Road Warrior & UK Champ Zak Chelli targets world title after Simpson fight

LONDON — Zak Chelli, the current British and Commonwealth Super-Middleweight Champion, of Italian descent, will face mandatory challenger Callum Simpson this weekend.

Chelli is a real go-getter who goes to the birthplace of other fighters and not only achieves victory there, but also acts as a substitute teacher for a while.

His most recent fight was a win over Germaine Brown to win the English Super-Middleweight Championship

“Beaten him (Germaine Brown) up and took his belts off. I’m going to keep those belts when I go to Burnelsy (for) Callum Simpson and go home a happy man,” Chelli said in an interview with Sports Illustrated.

That would hand Callum Simpson (14-0) his first professional loss. Simpson certainly has one advantage. The fight will take place in Simpson’s hometown of Barnsley, England, on Saturday, August 3.

Zakaria Chelli Snr, was a national boxing champion in Tunisia before moving to Italy, where he also won a title. The senior Chelli then moved to the UK, not before meeting Zak’s mother, a Neapolitan woman. The younger Chelli calls Fulham, a suburb of London, home. If he wins this weekend, he plans to holiday in Italy next week.

His mother has been equally influential in building his career outside the ring. At his mother’s urging, he completed a degree from Surrey University in business, management and marketing, making him a rare professional boxer to also hold a university degree.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, when teachers were laid off, he found a role as a substitute teacher (known in the UK as a substitute teacher)

“I really respect (teachers who work with special needs children); it’s harder than boxing,” he said.

Chelli brings a record of 15 wins, 2 losses and 1 draw to the ring. However, at just 26 years old, he still has a large part of his boxing career ahead of him

The fighter has been promoted to Ben Shalom by BOXXER, one of the UK’s leading promoters. A big win this weekend over undefeated Callum Simpson (14-0) would put him in the position of a world title contender with more lucrative match-ups in his near future.

“After this fight I’m done with Great Britain, I want to go for the European or world title elimination,” he said.